By Seven Hours Behind

Every year has a vintage but special seasons always stand out. Like 2010 each memorable campaign is different. 

1995. Special for no particular on-field success and mostly because the story began. We remember flashes: that first game against Richmond at the MCG; the big early season wins at the WACA; Winston Abraham; the Hard Yakka advertisements and purple overalls; water polo and football strategy discussed in the same sentence; and the away jumper that looks ever cooler with time. That season defined so much of the 'freckled red-headed step-son of the AFL' image the late Matt Price so eloquently described. Even our first win - against a near extinct Fitzroy at a decaying suburban Whitten Oval - was in front of a paltry 7500 spectators. No more than a hundred or so Fremantle supporters would have made the trip out to Footscray to watch it. It was the beginning of a feeling that it was going to be a struggle. Time builds institutions but back then one could have suspected Fremantle - like the now improving Peel Thunder - were a rushed decision, an ill-considered arrangement looking out of place. For all the draft picks and concessions the club lacked a core. The administration was run from a small top floor office in Parry Street, not visible from the footpath. Something was missing. Being a supporter you felt like the kid who'd arrived for the second term of school after everyone had made their friends.    

2003. Finals. The sweet feeling for the first time. Single digit home wins against Brisbane and Adelaide, 'Pavlich's quarter' against North Melbourne at the MCG and 'that' derby win in Round 22. The frenzy and excitement around town, not dissimilar to the last few weeks in Perth this year. The elimination final loss to Essendon couldn't conceal the sense we'd all taken a small step forward. James Hird's anecdote in the Herald Sun this year was instructive. For those who missed it, he told a story of a highlights package (prepared by future Docker Robert Shaw) of the 2003 Fremantle side in planning for the elimination final. After the Essendon team watched it Hird said the room was speechless; he said the skill level and ball carry in the footage was better - repeat better - than anything he saw of the Brisbane Lions in their 2001-2003 premiership era. When someone asked 'how are we going to compete with that?' Shaw said: 'Play physical. Fremantle are soft and have never experienced finals football'. Ouch. An uncomfortable thing for us to hear but on reflection right on the money. The result was evidence enough. It can't be denied that Fremantle sides had this image in the competition and it has taken years to shake off.  But 2003 was a step forward; one more thing was not beyond reach.       

2006. Already discussed at length on this blog but nonetheless the watershed year to date. We went from 6-7 to 15-7 in the blink of an eye. The team played three finals and won their first. We were probably as good as we could be given the two sides left after the third week of September - Sydney and West Coast - were a shade better when it counted. Looking back the 2006 side was strong but not premiership material. The list lacked flexibility and a few players were a year closer to retirement. But sadly we needed 2007 to realise the premiership window had closed. The tide turned sharp. In some respects we were dealt some harsh blows. J.Lo's career over at 26. 100+ games were invested in Walker, Dodd and Schammer's vintage but almost all bar Grover, Johnson, Mundy and Hayden are no longer in the side. Farmer on a back-ended contract which meant - as much as I love the 'Wiz' - he probably played a year too long. His natural replacement - one H. Ballantyne - was a Sandover Medallist and waiting for his shot by Farmer's retirement in 2008: think where the Mayor of Mandurah might be in his development with another year in the system. But the 2006 side gave us the most to smile about. Until now.     

2010 not only joins the list: it comes crashing through the doors. This year has been about two things: youth and promise. It's a bandwagon with no one looking to get off. Like many seasons Round One is pivotal. Adelaide were punished by a group of kids few knew. The atmosphere of the Geelong win was pivotal and helped supporters to believe again. Respectable wins in Melbourne. Massive hoodoos broken at the 'Gabba and the SCG. Two comprehensive derby wins. A late season dip brought about by injury was countered with an honourable win against Carlton in Round 22 and a composed finals performance against Hawthorn. While Friday night appeared a disappointing end to the season any supporter who made the trip to the MCG can and should feel proud to have watched our boys under lights on the biggest stage for the first time. It goes without saying we needed to play at our best to beat a Geelong side who play excellent football and have the experience to perform under pressure. With Sandliands unable to contest - let alone dominate - all of the centre ruck contests it made a tough job almost impossible. The experience would have done the younger players a great service and there is cause for optimism. I think we will certainly be Geelong's equal in 12 or 24 months time. A hard preseason awaits before we find out.        

So where can the team go? It no longer seems fanciful that Voss, Black, Akermanis, Judd, Cousins, Kerr, Ablett, Bartel, Selwood might be joined by Hill, Barlow and Morabito in five years time (Palmer may return to form and have something to say about this configuration as well). The prospects are tantalising and our midfield could eventually be that good. Elite in fact. If he avoids the common injuries, Sandilands could re-write the ruck rulebook more than anyone since 'Polly' Farmer. He is doing this already but a few more seasons like this one and the word 'great' could be used. Mundy (if the Gold Coast doesn't tempt him) is on the verge of becoming an elite midfielder in the Brendan Goddard mould: a tall and good kicking line-breaker who is now a proven clearance-winner. If Ballantyne is compared to Stephen Milne at the end of his career for games,  goals and on-field reputation this won't be a bad thing. Suban has a finessed and expanded Heath Black role written all over him. Johnson and Hayden will play out their days as well-regarded utilities capable of playmaker or 'shut-down' jobs. Broughton, Silvagni, Fyfe, Walters, Bollenhagen and the rest of the youngsters can develop into just about anything.

We can get excited about the potential for success but it's worth asking 'why does success matter?'. What would a Grand Final appearance - or dare say it even a premiership - mean for Fremantle, for the supporters or for WA? Judging by Perth's pulse, by the blog comments below the news stories, by the spring in the step of so many these past few weeks, it would mean quite a lot. The outpouring of excitement has been great to watch. Seeing two random people go and pick up the milk with the scarf on and pass each other with a smile is special. It's a silly, harmless but special feeling that you're not the only one. That we're out there everywhere. That's what would make our journey to the premiership summit so different to a lot of other clubs. Just like the Boston Red Sox had an 86-year wait between drinks and coined 'Red Sox Nation' to describe their diaspora and the unique feeling of passion and pleasure spiked with pain, so the Purple Nation has a story no other supporter base in the AFL has.  But the past is just that and we can't (or shouldn't) get as caught up with irritations now. We've got a team on the rise and that's exciting. There is a creeping feeling of optimism amongst supporters that we don't have to be different; that we're not confined to the bottom eight and eternal mediocrity. 

The Purple Nation grew its base this year and won a few more neutral admirers. Expect the 'second favourite team' tag to get thrown around in the coming years if our young side really takes off. For all the jokes about our colours, our song and our jumper, a Fremantle premiership would be universally congratulated across football. Everyone loves a winner who has come through a battle. It could be best summarised by the speedy (and bald) Andrew Wills in a post-match interview I remember from the 1990s. It was a rare victory at the MCG in front of a small crowd watching a game almost no one would remember. With the Channel Seven crew on the ground, Wills was asked how the win 'felt'. His answer was quintessential Fremantle. He wiped his muddy face on the anchor and the away green and said: "Winning is great mate, it beats losing any day." And winning after all is what everyone does it for at AFL level.  Despite the semi-final loss to Geelong it has been a great season, one worth finishing on a hopeful note. Ironically it was a Geelong blogger who wrote the following words in 2007 which hold a thought for our optimistic future:

"Some people - those who are not wise in the ways of the world - have told me over the years that football doesn't really matter, that there are more important things in life, that football is just a game. Up until 2007 when Geelong won our first premiership in 44 years, I would reply 'If only that were true,' such was the pain of having to live through four Grand Final losses without seeing the ultimate success once. In the last quarter of the 2007 Grand Final, when we were already one hundred points ahead and certain of the win, I sent out an SMS to family and friends that said something like this: "I love youse all. This is one of the top 5 days of my life." I was stupidly happy. It was happiness mixed with relief and emotional fulfilment and a sense of accomplishment and a ton of pride and a shitload of "get-stuffed-all-you-bastards-who-thought-we-couldn't-do-it!". That day and that night I hugged thousands of blue and white clad strangers and thought about my life and what the Geelong Football Club was to my childhood and my family and my sense of self and I could only come to the conclusion that it was a great thing to be so passionate. It's a wonderful thing."

I couldn't agree more. The thought of that day is an exciting idea to contemplate over the off-season. Needless to say there is a long, long way to go. But after this season the passion is as strong as ever, and one feels we're all getting that little bit closer. The class of 2010 gets a big tick. 2011 can't come soon enough.